


Heart of Iron, Heart of Gold

by HoneyxMonkey



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Cybernetics, Cyborg Character, Cyborg!Hugo, Cyborgs, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Angst, Inspired by Varian and the Seven Kingdoms - Kaitlyn Ritter & Anna Lencioni, M/M, it's like star wars but better!, lightly inspired by Lunar Chronicles, this is officially the cyborg hugo au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-11-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26312341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HoneyxMonkey/pseuds/HoneyxMonkey
Summary: A cynical cyborg, a compassionate mechanic, an adventurous pilot, and a mysterious child. What could possibly go wrong when you put this odd mixture on a ship and call them a crew.Hugo wants to run away from his life, leave behind the people who won't ever see him as anything more than a freak and a monster.Varian longs for adventure, having been stuck in the same town on the same planet for eighteen years.Nuru is a long time run-away of her old life, travelling the seas of galaxies the whole universe has to offer.Yong is a secret to be kept but one that scientists let slip through the cracks.When they meet by chance, who's to say they won't fight tooth and claw, or gear and cog, to keep eachother safe.
Relationships: Donella & Hugo (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms), Hugo/Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 58





	1. Bolt Meets Wrench

**Author's Note:**

> Hehehehehe. Hello my little honey bees! Welcome to my angst induced bull crap. Please enjoy.

Hugo grit his teeth as he popped the old metal foot out of its socket. A fizz from the wiring could be heard as the foot was disconnected from the rest of the leg. He set the broken extremity on the table and opened the panel on the sole. He was met with grease and fried wires. Hugo cursed and stuck his hand in it and pulled out the now useless coils. Where was he going to get the parts to fix this stupid foot?

He sighed and dropped the hunk of metal on the table, balancing precariously on his left leg. “Mom is going to  _ love  _ this.” Hugo hopped over to a chair and plopped down in it, his good leg aching from bearing his full weight.

He glared at his right leg. “Why are you such a problem?”

The leg did not answer.

He sighed again and considered getting an older foot from the collection of parts that had accumulated over the years. They never really fit or connected well enough with his current wiring but it may last him enough time to get the parts he needed to fix his currently broken foot, or get an entirely new one. He’d heard that a blacksmith in Corona made good extra cyborg and android parts.

“Might as well get this over with.” Hugo said with a sigh. He pushed himself up from the chair with a grunt and swiped his old foot off the table. “Hey mom!”

Donella came to his door a few seconds later and saw him using the table to keep himself up. She sighed when she noticed his lack of a foot. “Did it lock up again?”

Hugo nodded and Donella walked over to him, taking the grease-dripping foot from his hand. “Arm still good?”

“Yeah, it’s fine.” Hugo leaned on the table more. “I think I may just need a new foot.”

Donella nodded as she checked the wiring. “It would be better to get one that’s up to date with your circuits.”

Hugo pulled himself onto the table. “Why don’t we try Corona? I heard it’s lovely this time of year.”

“Why Corona?”

“Really? We both know that it’s the only place that doesn’t treat freaks like me as objects or property.”

Donella looked appalled. “Hugo, you’re not a freak.”

Hugo snorted, gesturing to the metal foot his mother was holding. “Aren’t I?”

“You’re not.”

“Right. Tell that to the metal limbs attached to my body. Oh! Or maybe the computer network of a brain in my head!” His voice was dripping heavy with sarcasm. “Yes, I’m definitely not a freak.”

“That network is keeping you alive.” Donella set the foot down and looked at her son sympathetically.

“I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t ask for my brain to be rewired. For my arm and leg to be taken away and replaced with this.” He waved his mechanical limb at her with anger on his face. “I didn’t ask to be taken apart and put back together.”

Donella’s face contorted with a flurry of emotions. “You may not have asked for it but it’s all I could do to keep you alive!” She braced both hands on the table and looked down, blinking away her tears. “Did you expect me to watch you die? I didn’t want to lose you.”

“Right. But you replaced your son with a computer.”

Donella looked up at him, icy glare cutting into his eyes. A single white dot blinked at her from the left one, unnaturally lighting up the emerald greens. “You may not be fully human anymore but that doesn’t change the fact that  _ that  _ is what you are on the inside. Underneath all of this,” she gestured to his whole body, knowing the circuitry, wiring, and microchip interface hidden beneath his flesh and metal. “You’re still you. You’re still my son. You’re still  _ Hugo.” _

Hugo stared back at her almost in shock. “I-I…”

Donella sighed and took in a heavy breath. “If I could take that moment back I would. If I’d known what would’ve happened to you, I never would have sent you out there. I regret making you go every single day of my life.” She put a hand on his leg. “Pulling you out of the rubble, seeing my thirteen year old son on the brink of death… it’s not something I’d wish for any mother to see. Hugo, the hardest decision I ever made was doing this to you. I knew that if I did, you’d be treated differently. You’d be seen as less human but I couldn’t lose you.” She smiled painfully, reliving the memories she tried so hard to keep down. “But the one thing I don’t regret is saving your life.”

Hugo felt a single tear trail from his right eye, down his face. Donella cupped his cheek and wiped the tear away.

“I love you Hugo. You know that, right?”

Hugo nodded and Donella smiled at him. 

“Good. Don’t forget it.” She nodded with a breath and took her hand away. Hugo still sat on the table, his brain trying to process everything, filing it away for later. “Let’s go get that foot then, shall we?”

_____

_ The Actium  _ touched down on Coronan soil, her crew which consisted only of three people clambering out and into the bustling City of the Sun.

Hugo was leaning heavily on Cyrus, an older foot was attached to his leg and it hurt to walk on. The buffer man was supporting the lanky teen’s weight without a problem.

Donella watched with pursed lips and an aching heart as her son limped next to her friend. Maybe while they were here they could fix the other things that had been going wrong with his body. She knew that the microchip embedded in his brain needed to be replaced. It had been old when she’d put it in and she hadn’t found a replacement since. The chip itself was Ulla’s design so it was no surprise to her that it had lasted this long. Of all the times Donella wished her old friend were here it was now. Ulla would know how to fix her son.

Unfortunately she could never get that friend back. It was too late. Eighteen years too late.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Hugo’s laughter. Cyrus was grinning like he’d just told a dumb joke and was delighted to make the teen laugh. Donella guessed that that was exactly what had happened.

Hugo was smiling as they walked, not noticing the few glares he was receiving from passers by. He was enjoying the moment of not having a care in the world. He needed this.

They soon arrived at the mechanic’s shop, all three immediately noticing the plethora of mechanical limbs and other assorted pieces. Hugo scanned the shop, eyes falling on a younger person in the shop. He looked to be about seventeen or eighteen, dark hair falling into his freckled face, barely held back by a pair of goggles perched on his head, and bright blue eyes fixated on a broken droid he was fixing.

The trio entered the shop, bell ringing to indicate their presence and the teen looked up from his work. He immediately noticed Hugo’s arm and leg and how he was leaning on Cyrus for support.

The kid pursed his lips, a mixture of emotions on his face. “May I help you?”

“Yes, he needs a new foot.” Cyrus spoke first, attempting to ruffle Hugo’s hair but was batted away and the blond ducked out of his reach.

“I’m not a kid, Cyrus.” Hugo rolled his eyes, shifting his weight so that he wasn’t putting pressure on the obviously ill-fitting foot.

The dark-haired teen snorted out a laugh and put down the droid piece he’d been fiddling with. “Anything specific?”

Hugo shrugged and took a step forward. “Just something that fits and won’t break in a week.”

The other boy nodded and walked out from behind the counter. “We have some more parts in the back. It’ll be easier to attach it there too.”

He gestured for Hugo to follow him, the blond following with minor difficulty, leaving the two adults out in the main store.

Hugo pulled himself onto a hospital-esque bed while he waited for the kid to find the parts.

“So you got a name, or am I just supposed to call you Goggles?” Hugo called out and the kid poked his head out from behind one of the shelves.

“What?”

Hugo gestured to the goggles sitting on his head and the other teen smiled, a light flush growing on his cheeks.

“Right. Uh, my name is Varian.”

Hugo smiled and leaned back a bit, looking up at the fluorescent lights. “I think I’ll call you Goggles.”

Varian snorted from behind the shelves and re-emerged with a box of mechanical foots. “And what am I supposed to call  _ you?  _ Blondie?”

“No, my name is Hugo.”

“Mmm, I like Blondie.” Varian set the box down and sat on the floor in front of Hugo. He tapped the metal leg with his wrench. “Wow this thing is old.” He looked up at Hugo. “When was the last time you replaced it?”

Hugo shrugged. “I haven’t. Not since the surgery. My mo-  _ mentor  _ just adds to it as I grow. It’s never actually been replaced.”

Varian blinked as the information settled in. He nodded slowly and looked back at the leg, running a hand over the metal. “Well, it looks like it’s in good shape nonetheless. When did it happen?”

Hugo looked around the dank space distractedly. “Six years ago. I was thirteen.”

Varian froze. “Thirteen?”

“Yes.” Hugo nudged the other teen with his metal foot. “You gonna get to work Goggles, cause this foot is killing me.”

Varian shook off his stupor and easily popped the foot out of place. “Right, sorry.” He got to work, finding the best fit for the blond teen’s circuits and worked on inserting it properly. “I’ve never seen wiring like this. It’s so…  _ different.” _

“Is… that a bad thing?”

“No.” Varian worked on connecting the wires to the two pieces soon to be one. “It’s just interesting, is all.”

Hugo nodded slowly, chewing on his lip.

“What about your arm?”

Hugo smiled and flexed his mechanical fingers, listening to the smooth whirring. “Like it? I made it myself.”

Varian looked impressed. “Very nice. Is it functional?”

Hugo rolled his eyes. “No, that’s why I’m wearing it, Hairstripe.”

“Hairstripe?”

“You’ve got a blue stripe in your hair.” Hugo said matter of factly like that explained everything.

Varian laughed. “Do you give all your friends nicknames?”

“Oh, so we’re friends now, are we?” Hugo smiled and leaned forward to watch Varian work.

“I mean… I don’t see why we couldn’t be?”

Hugo thought about it for a moment, thinking how easy it was to talk to Varian, someone he’d met less than thirty minutes ago. “Maybe, Goggles. Maybe.”


	2. Wrench Meets Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things start to take off and our adventure seems to have begun.

_ “Approaching Corona’s orbit, Captain.”  _ Memory’s robotic voice rang in Nuru’s ear.  _ “Shall I engage cloaking?” _

“No need Rory.” Nuru flicked a few switches before turning her eyes to the golden planet below. “We won’t be going to the Capital.”

She could practically feel the ship shudder. Nuru closed her eyes as she waited for her A.I.’s reprimand.

_ “Captain if the authorities discover your cargo-” _

“And they won’t.” Nuru dismissed Memory’s warning light. “It’s going to be fine.” She brought them swiftly through the atmosphere. “Lock the doors. I’ll only be gone for an hour.”

As they touched down on the old town’s rotting landing pad Nuru stood and secured her blaster pistol. “I’ll be back soon.” She called into the ship. “Don’t leave this ship.”

She didn’t wait for a response and set off through the streets. She just hoped the kid would listen.

_____

_ Three months and twenty-five days. _

The green words filtered over his left eye’s sight and Hugo growled in irritation. It had been three months and twenty-five days since he’d been to Corona… and five weeks since he’d last contacted Varian. He hated that his computer kept reminding him. And he hated that it only reminded him because he kept thinking about Varian. It wasn’t  _ his  _ fault that he had to cut off all communication with his only friend… actually it kind of was. He was at fault for being what he was. Varian’s dad had found out his son had not only become friends with a cyborg but also that that cyborg was the son of a wanted crime boss. So the man had forced Varian to break off all communications with Hugo. He didn’t want his son getting caught in the middle of all this, and Hugo didn’t blame him.

He’d been staring at his ceiling when the words had crawled across his vision. He waited a few minutes for them to go away and was startled when a message ping sounded. The green words were replaced by a red dot followed by a few simple words;

_ Message from VARIAN _

Hugo bolted upright and went to the message. Varian’s voice was loud in his head as it played.

_ “Hugo!”  _ Static followed by an explosion fizzed out Varian’s voice before it became clear again.  _ “-need your help! -rona- attack! Hurry- help me please-” _

The audio stopped and Hugo sat in stunned silence for a few seconds. Varian needed his help. Varian was in  _ danger. _

He leapt off his bed and ran down the base’s concrete halls, his metal foot slamming into the stone making a loud echo that bounced off the walls. He skidded to a stop in front of the ship yard. His eyes landed on a smaller one, easily flyable and couldn't be tracked. Perfect.

He jumped into the cock-pit, firing up the engine. The hatch closed and the bay doors opened. “ _ I’m coming Varian.”  _ He thought as the tiny ship blasted off to Corona.

____

_ One hour ago, Capital City of Corona _

Nuru walked into the mechanic’s shop, spotting a boy around her age, maybe a bit older, working behind the counter. She cleared her throat and he looked up from the pile of parts he was fiddling with and pushed his goggles onto his head.

“Can I help you?”

Nuru walked up to the counter and leaned forward. “I need to know if you’re familiar with an LSS Model-4 Cruiser engine?”

The boy stared at her for a moment before nodding slowly. “Those are rare to come by. How’d you get one?”

Nuru crossed her arms. “Rare to find a mechanic who knows how to fix one.”

The boy smiled. “Fair enough. What’s the problem?”

Nuru lowered her voice and glanced to the door nervously. “The engine is leaking. I’ve done what I can but I’m not the handiest when it comes to fixing things.”

The boy nodded again and leaned forward too. “Cruisers usually need a four-to-five person crew at most. You don’t already have a mechanic on board?”

The teen narrowed her eyes. “If I did I wouldn’t be here. I was told you were the best mechanic in the quadrant. Was I told wrong?”

“Can’t say you were,  _ but,”  _ he emphasized and rested his chin on his gloved hand. “Most people who own a lightweight cruiser are usually smugglers seeing as how LSS’, specifically the 4’s, can’t be tracked easily.” He smiled a smile that Nuru saw often enough to know he was about to offer her a deal. “So I’ll tell you what. I fix your engine, and you get me off this planet.”

Nuru blinked. “What?”

He sighed and looked to the back door anxiously. “I want to get off this planet. I’ve been stuck here too long and I-”

The back door opened and an older man walked through. He had white hair, a fluffy beard, and kind eyes.

“Ah, Varian,” he smiled and the boy,  _ Varian,  _ relaxed a bit. “Making friends are we?”

Varian smiled half-heartedly. “Uh no… no I don’t think so. She just asked me to fix her ship’s engine.”

The man nodded and selected a few android pieces off the shelves before walking back to the door he’d come from. “Well then, I’ll let you get back to your business.” He gave Varian one last smile before disappearing into the back room.

Varian let out a breath of relief and looked back at Nuru pleadingly. “Please. I need to get to The Iron Planet.”

Nuru stiffened. “Why do you want to go  _ there?” _

“My friend he’s…” Varian shook off her question. “That’s none of your business. I just need to get there.”

Nuru opened her mouth to argue but realized he was right. His reason for wanting to go was none of her business. “That place is dangerous.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Varian crossed his arms and straightened up. “Please?”

Nuru sighed with resignation and nodded. “Fine. I’ll take you to that hellhole but don’t think I’ll stick around. I have places to be.”

Varian grinned and snatched his toolbelt from the stool next to him and led the way to the door. “Don’t worry, I won’t need you to.”

Nuru rolled her eyes, certain this kid was actually crazy. “Hope you won’t have to eat those words Goggles.”

Varian stopped immediately, eyes fixed on the ground. “What did you call me?” He asked quietly.

“Um… Goggles?” Nuru repeated carefully, unsure why this would upset him.

“Please… please don’t.” He whispered, continuing to walk.

“Why? It’s just a nickname. And a pretty fitting one too, I might add.”

“I know it is but…” he sighed, hand coming up to roughly wipe away a stray tear that had fallen down his face. “My friend, the one I’m looking for? He used to call me that. It just… makes me miss him.”

“Oh.” Nuru pursed her lips as she fell into step beside the mechanic. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know.” He let her lead the way to her ship and they soon came up on it. Varian whistled appreciatively. “She got a name?”

Nuru smiled, glad he knew art when he saw it. “Memory.” She hit the button on the side and the ramp lowered. “I’ll show you to the engine room, then I have to secure my cargo. Don’t snoop.”

Varian held up his hands in surrender. “Won’t touch anything but the engine. Mechanic’s honor.”

Nuru rolled her eyes but beckoned for him to follow. She led him to the engine room and Varian immediately saw the problem.

“Wow.”

“I know.” She left him to his work, pausing in the door. “You gonna be okay on your own?”

“I don’t need a babysitter.” Varian snarked and Nuru left with an eyeroll. He put a hand on the engine, wondering what had happened to get the gigantic crack down the middle of the lunaric steel. It was lightweight, easy to weld if you had the skill and materials, and once it was made into a solid shape and hardened it was nearly indestructible. He warily eyed the blue glow of the energy source but got to work. 

He managed to stop the leaking and stabilize the plasma in the center but the only way to fix that crack was to weld more lunaric steel to the already existing mass that made up the engine, which he couldn’t do. He didn’t have the materials nor the skill to do something that complicated and have it be well done. Suddenly he remembered something Hugo had said;

_ “It’s lunaric steel.” He’d sounded like he was grinning over the line. “Made the whole thing myself.” _

_ Varian smiled. “Impressive. Just the arm or the leg too?” _

_ “You know the answer to that, Goggles.” Hugo teased. “You did fix my leg.” _

_ “Yeah, yeah.” Varian picked at the bedsheets. “So… if the situation ever came up where I needed you to help me fix something made from lunaric steel…” _

_ “Call me.” _

_ They both laughed, but then Varian smiled. _

_ “I will.” _

Varian fingered anxiously at his comm. Hugo knew how to fix this. He shook himself off, putting his tools away. He could get Hugo’s help when he reached The Iron Planet.

The ship suddenly lurched to the side and an explosion shook the ground. Varian bolted to his feet, running out the door.

“What is that!” He yelled, racing outside but stopped when he saw what was happening.

Hundreds of battleships had filled the sky and all of their guns were aimed at Corona.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUH DUH DUH


	3. Blast Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship-  
> I'm sorry, little einsteins was my childhood.  
> Anyway, ba bing the adventure has started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this chapter is dedicated to Glace for her birthday! Love you glace uwu

Nuru tackled Varian to the ground as another blast shook the earth sending roots, trees, grass, and dirt flying into the air.

“Why are they here!” She yelled above the explosions, following Varian to cover.

“I don’t know!” Varian yelled back, flinching at another onslaught of explosions that tore apart his planet. “Corona and the Empire have always been on safe terms!”

Nuru blocked her face from being hit by more dirt and rubble. “Well looks like negotiations went sour because they seem pretty set on destroying this planet!”

Varian sucked in an anxious breath, digging out his commlink and connecting to Hugo.

Nuru stared at him in confusion. “What are you doing?!”

“Getting help!”

____

Hugo was not proud of his landing. He kicked out the hatch of the small spacecraft and dragged himself out of its smoking husk, coughing and wheezing. He would admit to not being the best pilot. Kind of ironic considering what he was.

He stood, already racing off into the forest to find Varian. He was actively tracking his friend’s comm. He’d narrowly avoided being blasted by the Imperial’s solar cannons on his way into the atmosphere. Hugo just hoped he’d gotten there in time.

The sound of the explosions steered him in the right direction. Soon he was running out from the treeline into an old town that was being torn to pieces from the solar cannons. There was alot of screaming but he tuned it out, only focused on finding Varian. He spotted a lightweight cruiser perched in the docking bay. It was the  _ only  _ ship in the bay. His tracker beeped loudly. That was where Varian was… coincidentally that was also where most of the cannon fire was too.

He continued dodging the blasts while making his way to Varian, wondering what exactly he did to get himself into this much trouble. 

An explosion knocked him to the ground, the heat of the blast almost unbearable. It left his ears ringing and his body in varying degrees of pain. Multiple error messages flashed across his vision but he paid them little attention.

He laid there for a few seconds, trying to suck in painful lungfuls of air. Finally he pulled himself up, every muscle in his body screaming in protest. He didn’t care to assess how injured he was. He just needed to find Varian.

______

Almost immediately after Varian had sent the comm, the connection cut off thanks to the cannons destroying the comm towers.

Varian cursed loudly as he and Nuru drew fire away from the ship. The pilot wouldn’t tell him what her cargo was, just that it was important it stayed safe. He didn’t argue.

A particularly loud explosion shook the very core of the planet, sending both teens toppling to the ground.

“If this keeps up no one is going to survive!” Nuru yelled above the sounds of crashing and burning buildings.

“Maybe that’s the goal!” Varian clutched the grass underneath him, tears welling in his eyes. His planet was about to be destroyed and he couldn’t do anything about it. His home… his  _ family.  _

“Varian watch out!” Nuru’s scream barely made it past the rushing anger. She snatched him by the collar of his shirt and yanked him out of the way of a crumbling building.

“Thanks.” Varian gave her a half-smile and pulled himself off the ground.

“Where’s that ‘help’ you called in?” She asked sarcastically, pulling him out of the way again.

Varian chewed his lip anxiously and wrung his hands together. “It was a longshot to begin with. I don’t know if he even got my message…”

Nuru opened her mouth to say something, it was probably something snarky, when she froze. Horror and fear clouded her eyes and she gripped tightly to Varian’s shoulder. “Oh no…”

“What?” What is it?” Varian turned his head and saw the glint of a metal limb in the smoke and ash.

“A cyborg.” Nuru swallowed, grabbing Varian’s hand and tried to pull him along. “We have to go. If there’s a cyborg here, the Imperial’s can’t be far behind.”

Varian snatched his wrist away and looked back. The arm was gone and his hope with it. Hugo wasn’t here. “Don’t be prejudiced. Cyborg’s are people just the same as you and me.”

Nuru clenched her jaw. “Funny. A sense of humor to go with the brains. The Imperial’s use cyborgs for their puppet army. They feel nothing. No remorse, hate, or even love. They’re killers, and it will kill us if we stick around. Now let’s  _ go.” _

Varian backed away from her. “I know about the army but… you can’t possibly believe that they’re monsters? Just because they’re different doesn’t mean they’re dangerous.”

Nuru opened and closed her mouth and then looked away awkwardly. “Listen, the ones I’ve dealt with are. Can we just go please? Don’t you want to get to your friend-”

She stopped and stared right behind him, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

Varian turned, seeing the shine of a green light trained on him. A figure stepped out of the smoke and suddenly his whole world brightened. There stood Hugo, jacket and shirt peppered with burn holes, glasses sitting crooked on his face, and multiple cuts and bruises littering his cheeks and forehead but he was  _ here. _

Varian ran forward and collided with his friend in a hug. The force of it made Hugo have to spin him around once but once his feet were on solid ground again he buried his face in his friend's chest and squeezed him tightly.

Hugo laughed at his enthusiasm and hugged him just as tightly. Varian felt a metal hand come up to cradle the back of his head as Hugo buried his face in Varian’s hair. They’d missed eachother.

“Excited to see me Goggles?” Hugo teased but didn’t let go, even as the planet continued to fall apart around them.

“You have  _ no  _ idea.” Varian smiled, allowing his hands to burrow into Hugo’s jacket. He didn’t want to let him go again. “I missed you.”

He suddenly remembered Nuru and he turned to find the pilot staring at them in shock. He cursed again as more explosions rang but this time farther away.

“We need to leave the planet.” He said as he begrudgingly released Hugo from the hug and made his way back over to Nuru. He stopped in front of her and was aware Hugo had stuck close by. “Nuru we need to go now.”

She shook herself off. “I am not letting a cyborg on my ship.”

“But-”

“No.” She crossed her arms, fully ready to be stubborn in the wake of total destruction.

“Wow.” Varian could hear the snark coming from Hugo. “She’s a nice one, isn’t she?”

Varian hit his chest to shut him up. “Nuru please. We had a deal. I fix your engine and you get me off the planet.”

“Yeah,  _ you.”  _ She glared at the blond. “Not  _ it _ . And you didn’t even say anything about wanting a cyborg to come anyway.”

“He was the friend I was looking for!” Varian took a deep breath to calm himself. “He can fix the crack in your engine.”

“What?”

“He can fix it. I don’t have the skill to weld lunaric steel. He does.”

Nuru took a long breath in and sighed heavily. “Fine but I’m dumping you on the first uninhabited planet I find.”

“Thank you for your generosity.” Hugo said with heavy sarcasm and Nuru rolled her eyes.

“Your programming make you that sarcastic?”

Hugo narrowed his eyes at her, the light in the left one growing larger and smaller as if he were calculating. “I don’t  _ have  _ programming. I’m not a robot.”

Nuru gave his metal arm a once over and started walking. “Could’ve fooled me.”

Varian felt regret flicker through him when he saw the sting of hurt in Hugo’s eyes.

“Why that one?” He asked as they followed Nuru back to her ship. The explosions and cannon fire had moved to the capitol city.

Varian took Hugo’s right hand as they walked, not really noticing he was doing it. “I’m so sorry. I just… I asked her to take me to your planet so I could find you.” He was silent as the docking bay came into view.

Hugo nodded slowly. “Any reason why?”

“My dad…” Varian wiped away his tears. “My dad was killed. And my sister… my  _ adopted  _ sister wanted me to live with her. But I didn’t want that. I wanted you. I wanted to run away and find you again.” He smiled at the blond who looked rather shocked. “I’ve been planning this for two weeks. I just needed the pilot who would take me.”

“Oh.” Hugo looked at the ground as they walked. “Goggles I’m so sorry about your dad. I know you loved him.”

Varian squeezed his hand once but smiled. “Thank you. It’s going to be okay though. I’ve got you now.”

Hugo smiled too and released Varian’s hand to wrap him in a side hug. “I missed you too by the way.”

Varian felt his cheeks growing red but ignored it. Soon they came to the ship and thank the stars that it wasn’t damaged.

Nuru was the first on board and ignored the two boys as she made her way to the cockpit.

“Don’t touch anything.” She said coldly as they both took seats. Varian climbed into the co-pilot’s chair and Hugo sat behind him. Another chair sat empty beside him. This vessel was meant to be manned by four people.

Varian tapped his fingers against his knee anxiously as Nuru revved the engine. The thrusters roared to life and the ship rose from the unstable ground. Nuru turned it to the sky and grinned slyly. “Hold onto something.” She said before she kicked it into full gear and blasted into space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The, 'nuru hates cyborgs' thing is temporary. It's meant to reflect her not trusting Hugo in the original au but she starts to later and also stops hating cyborgs too. yay!


	4. Truth Shines A Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian has some secrets that come into the open, and Yong realizes he may be in a bit of trouble.

“I’m bored.” Hugo said for the millionth time in the last hour.

Nuru growled in frustration, her hands tightening on the steering. “How about you jump out the exhaust port? Then you won’t be bored anymore.”

Hugo rolled his eyes, twirling around in the chair again. “Do you even know where we’re going?”

“Well, no. We don’t exactly have a destination, seeing as how we  _ were  _ supposed to go to  _ your  _ planet to find  _ you.”  _ She flipped a few switches on the control board. “Course  _ Goggles  _ over here didn’t bother to tell me his friend was a  _ cyborg.” _

Varian sighed. “I’m sorry, I just wasn’t sure you’d help me if you knew.”

Nuru grit her teeth. “Well then you made the right call.”

Varian eyed her warily before sighing and standing up. “Hey Hugo, come here.”

Hugo watched confusedly as Varian stood and made his way out of the cockpit. “Uh…”

“Don’t break anything.“ Nuru instructed, not even glancing in their direction.

Hugo shrugged off his confusion and followed his friend out the door. “What’s up Goggles?”

Varian bit his lip, glancing back at Nuru who wasn’t even paying them any attention. “I think they were looking for me.”

Hugo blinked. “Who?”

“The Imperials.”

Hugo felt his brain malfunction for a second. “I’m sorry what? Why?”

Varian cast an anxious glance to the engine room. “I sort of… stole something from them.”

Hugo stared at him for a moment, feeling an odd mixture of pride, attraction, and dread. “Goggles what did you steal?”

Varian sighed, digging his hand into his pocket. “Information. I was… I was hoping that once I found you... we could get it to the Rebels.” He pulled out a flashdrive, shiny and new, polished to perfection.

Hugo put a metal hand over Varian’s open palm, lingering for a few seconds. “Do you know what it says?”

  
  


Varian shook his head. “Only bits and pieces. I had to run before I could read the whole thing. But Hugo, it isn’t good. They-” he choked back a sob. “They killed my father because of this.”

“Then why did you steal it?” Hugo asked, even more confused now. “Goggles if you knew you’d be caught then why-” that’s when the realization hit him. “Are you part of the Rebellion?”

Varian nodded, eyes brimming with tears.

“How long?”

“Two months.” Varian scrubbed his tears away with his sleeve. “They let me stay where I was because of my connections. That’s why I was able to get this.”

Hugo sighed heavily, curling both hands around Varian’s. “Freckles, why didn’t you tell me?”

Varian bit his lip. “I didn’t want you to worry.”

Hugo looked into his big blue eyes. “Well now I’m worried.” He gently brushed Varian’s tears away. “Can they track this?”

Varian shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

Hugo gently took the flashdrive. “Well I’m going to keep this safe.” He put it in one of the compartments on his arm. “It’ll jam any tracking signals. We’ll be safe.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

__________

Yong watched the two strangers from behind the door with baited breath. They’d been talking quietly for a good fifteen minutes now. They were standing right in front of his hiding place. Yong had no idea why Nuru had allowed two strangers on the ship. He remembered seeing the shorter one a few hours earlier when he was fixing the engine… the engine Yong accidentally blew up.

He sighed and leaned back against the wall. He’d been hoping he could stretch his legs once they’d reached hyper-space but Nuru told him to stay out of sight.

That’s when the cyborg stiffened.

“Hugo?” The shorter male asked with concern and confusion. “What is it?”

  
The cyborg,  _ Hugo,  _ suddenly looked right at him, a white light blinking at him from the cyborg’s left eye, shrinking and growing as if he was calculating. Yong froze. He’d been spotted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE BOY MAKES AN APPEARANCE!!!!!


	5. Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nuru has some issues, so does Hugo.

Hugo stood there for a moment, peering into the dark closet. 

_ Heat signature detected: Species Unknown _

There was a pause as his biometrics continued to scan the environment.

_ Potential threat. Proceed with caution. _

Hugo took a cautious step towards the closet, metal hand reaching for the doorknob.

“Hugo what are you doing?” Varian hissed, hand grabbing at his shoulder. “Nuru told us not to touch anything!”

“There’s something in the closet.” Hugo said and swung the door open carefully, cyborg hand at the ready in case it was dangerous. They both froze at the sight of a scared, dirty child. The kid looked to be no older than twelve and his abnormally red eyes stared up at them in fear. “That’s… that’s a child.” Hugo felt his brain trying to connect the dots but the more he tried to make sense of the situation the more he felt a headache coming on. “That is… an actual child.”

Varian stared in confusion. “Why… why does Nuru have a child in her closet?” Varian looked back to the cockpit. “Nuru why is there a child in this closet!”

They heard a string of curses and Nuru ran into the hall, eyes wide. “You were supposed to stay hidden!”

The kid looked between the three teenagers. “I-I was! The cyborg saw me!”

Nuru glared at Hugo. Before she could open her mouth to berate him, Hugo beat her to the first word.

“I saw his heat signature, okay?” He sighed. “Sometimes my biotremics do a sweep of the area to make sure it’s safe. Don’t get your pretty little head in a twist over it,  _ Princess.” _

Nuru gaped at him. “Pr- _ Princess!?”  _ She demanded, gold eyes forming into an offended glare. “Listen here you  _ human wannabe.”  _ She growled, taking pride in the clear hurt that flashed across this monstrosity’s artificial eyes. “I already don’t trust you, so what makes you think snooping around my ship is okay!”

Hugo opened and closed his mouth and Nuru was shocked when she saw a tear forming in his right eye. He clamped his mouth shut and turned away from her, taking in a shuddering breath.

I-I  _ am  _ human.” He choked out, almost like he didn’t quite believe that himself. “I’m not a monster.” He said it like he was trying to convince himself, not her.

Despite feeling slightly guilty for making him cry, Nuru just wanted to keep digging into this. Varian was still staring at her with shock.

“Oh really?” She sneered. “Are you human? Are you sure you’re not a monster because under that pile of  _ bolts  _ I couldn’t tell.”

Hugo suddenly whirled around, fury and brokenness in his eyes. “Do you think 

I wanted this!” He yelled, his voice echoing across the ship. “Do you think I asked to be taken apart and put back together? Do you think I leapt into that burning ship for  _ fun?”  _ His breathing was heavy and erratic, the glowing dot in his left eye blinking red. “You have  _ no  _ idea the kind of pain and suffering I’ve gone through! I had nine  _ months  _ of my life ripped away from me as my mother had to stitch me back together,  _ piece  _ by  _ painful piece _ .” Tears streamed down his right cheek. “I never asked for my brain to be rewired, taken apart and put back together just so that I can keep breathing.” He angrily wiped his tears away. “Don’t act like you know me, like I  _ chose  _ to become this because I  _ didn’t.  _ Stop treating me like a freak because a few of my body parts have been replaced with metal and wires.” He clenched his fist. “I may  _ look  _ less human than you but that is  _ still  _ what I am.”

Nuru stared at him, guilt creeping in and for the first time, she saw true hurt and anger in him. She saw something alive and  _ very  _ human in his eyes. “I-” But before she could apologize he was gone, stalking down the halls of the ship to get away from her.

Varian glared at her, nothing but contempt for her in his gaze. “What’s your problem, Nuru?” He asked, voice angry. “Why do you hate cyborgs so much? Why do you constantly insist on attacking his humanity?”

Nuru pursed her lips and looked away. “I… the Empire used their cyborg army to kill my family, my entire town.”

Varian crossed his arms. “I’m sorry that happened Nuru, really I am. But not all cyborgs are part of their army. And Hugo is the kindest, gentlest person I know.” He sighed. “Don’t let your hatred and hurt, hurt somebody else. You don’t know him, Nuru. You don’t know what his life is like, constantly berated and belittled just for being cyborg. He doesn’t need someone else doing that to him, especially someone he’s going to have to spend a lot of time with.” 

With that, Varian went after Hugo and left Nuru to think about what he’d said.

Yong crawled out of the closet and looked up at Nuru with trepidation. “You are going to apologize, right?”

Nuru looked at him and nodded with a shaky breath. “Yes, yes I am. I’m going to give him some time to cool down first.”

Yong pursed his lips and nodded. “Okay.”

________________________

Varian walked into the kitchen to find Hugo sitting on the polished metal floor of the ship, back against the counters, and head in his hand, quiet sobs racking his body. He sighed and walked quietly to Hugo’s side, sitting down and running his fingers through the blond hair. Hugo stiffened slightly but soon leaned into his touch.

“I’m so sorry Hugo.” Varian said quietly, fingers brushing against the metal panel on the left side of Hugo’s head. “I  _ never  _ would have asked you to get on this ship if I’d known she’d act this way.” He longed to brush away Hugo’s tears but his friend still hadn’t lifted his head. “Just- I want you to know that I don’t, and never will see you the way she does.”

Hugo lifted his head enough to peer at Varian with his right eye. “You don’t?”

Varian shook his head, scooting a bit closer to Hugo. “No, I don’t. I care about you so much, Hugo. You’re my best friend in…” he laughed a bit. “Well, the whole galaxy really.”

Hugo smiled a little. “Thank you.”

Varian smiled softly and brushed his tears away gently. “Anything for you. I mean that.”

Hugo leaned into his touch with a sad but grateful smile. And his heart fluttered a bit at the soft look in Varian’s eyes and the way Varian was touching him so gently. “As long as I’m with you, Varian, I’m glad I’m here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will have a bit more Yong

**Author's Note:**

> So I know I still have my other long fics to finish but I couldn't not write this as soon as the idea came to me. Guys, you don't understand, I DREW things for this.


End file.
